


Blooming Wounds

by RiverLovesYou1



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Au when you hurt yourself it becomes flowers on your soulmate, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Cute, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluffy, Gay, Gay Keith (Voltron), I spent way too long writing this, Keith (Voltron) Angst, M/M, Most of the time, Sorry Not Sorry, They are meant for each other, klance is canon king, like 2 months, only a little angst, this hurt to write
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-06-16 18:36:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15443307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiverLovesYou1/pseuds/RiverLovesYou1
Summary: Keith has been living his life thinking his soul mate died when he was a teenager, he never thought flowers would start to grow from his skin again.The Au no one asked for but I totally got inspired to write.





	Blooming Wounds

**Author's Note:**

> So this short fic is actually based on this post I saw on Tumblr but I made it my own idea kinda. The original idea comes from @nanamimo on tumblr. Go check them out!

       That day wasn’t anything special. The wind blew and the sun hid behind the graying clouds. The grass, despite the fall weather, was a ravishing green. There was a small, yellow house with white shutters that stood between Lanthin Road and Maple Avenue. A five year old Keith Kogane was prancing around the yard when he couldn’t keep his balance anymore and tripped. When he went to stand back up he noticed vines were sprouting from his knees. Not long after there were some coming from his hands as well.

        He waddled over to the porch where his brother, Shiro, sat. At first Keith wasn't sure what to say. He'd seen the flowers sprout from Shiro's skin so many times, yet it seemed odd for his own to grow them as well. Finally, Keith decided to announce his predicament.

       "Shiro- I have to tell you something!" Keith exclaimed. As Shiro looked over, he didn't notice anything strange. With confusion, he stood and walked over to the ledge of the porch to peer down at Keith.

        "What are you so happy about?" The 12 year old said as Keith waved up at him. Keith stood among the garden but as he moved away from it to dash over to show him, Shiro noticed the vines.

       “Oh buddy! Looks like I need to explain some things, huh?” Shiro walked over to his brother as Keith rushed over to him. He picked him up and walked up the porch stairs and over to the door. He adjusted Keith so that he nestled into the crook of his neck. With little struggle, Shiro swung the door open, hitting the wall accidentally. The inside of their small house wasn’t much. Old furniture stood under pictures that lined up on white walls. Among the pictures were Keith and Shiro, along with their parents.

        Shiro placed Keith down next to the couch. Standing next to his brother, Keith inspected the rips in the brown fabric. Cotton stuffing was sticking out, making the cushions look flat.

       “Hold on, I’m going to get some supplies to remove your flowers and then we’ll talk,” Shiro’s voice was quiet as he rubbed Keith’s head . He stood up straight and walked out of the room, disappearing behind the door.

       Light flooded the room through the windows, making the space feel more open. Keith stared at his hands as the flowers bloomed into small Hyacinth flowers. They were a light pink, turning red. Keith wasn’t sure what that meant but he was happy to see them grow. He wondered if he had to get them removed or if he could let them grow for a bit longer.

        When Shiro came back to the room to see Keith staring at the delicate flowers he let a smile slip past him. He placed the scissors on the table and a book with the title, “Flowers: The meaning to life itself.” He sat down next to Keith and placed his hand onto his shoulder.

       “Do we have to take them off?” Keith said. He looked over at Shiro with tear filled eyes. Shiro sighed but knew that if they didn’t then the Flowers would take his energy away. He hung his head low for only a moment before grabbing the book that was in front of him.

       “I’m sorry buddy, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to keep them. They could hurt you,” Shiro opened up the book and moved it towards Keith.

       “Are you sure?” Keith asked as he looked at Shiro, paying no mind to the book infront of him.

       “I’m positive. But we can wait until we find the flower in the book. What do you say?” Shiro was trying to make his brother happy, but at the same time, keep him safe. Keith glanced at the open book before nodding.

       “Yeah, I’d really like that,” He said as he went to see what was on the page. Keith flipped through pages for a few minutes before he found one that resembled the ones from his hands. He looked back and forth from the page to the flower before deciding that it was the one.

       “Shiro! I found it! I found it!” Keith yelled as he turned to look at his brother who smiled at him kindly.

       “That’s great buddy! Let’s see it!” Shiro leaned over his little brother to see that the flower that Keith had found did look a lot like his flower. Looking at the title of the page he smiled.

       “What! What is it Shiro?” Keith pulled at Shiro’s arm as the man shook his head.

       “Well, this particular flower is called a Hyacinth. The color of it signifies playfulness,” He grinned as he pulled Keith closer.

       “Playfulness!” Keith grinned as he looked over the flowers.

       “That’s right. Do you know why flowers are blooming from your skin?” Shiro asked as he Turned to face his knees. He picked at the holes in his jeans as he thought of ways to explain it. The loose thread was bunching up an he pulled at a string until the thread was no longer attached to his pants.

       “No! Why are flowers growing on me?” Keith grinned and used his fingers to feel the petals and the plant.

       “You know about mom and dad, right? How we call them soul mates?” Shiro questioned. When Keith nodded He continued, “Well when one of them gets hurt, a flower grows in the others skin in the area that got hurt,” As he spoke he wondered if he worded it too weirdly or if it was simple enough for Keith to understand.

        "Well," Shiro began, "You know how we call Mom and Dad soul mates?" When Keith nodded Shiro continued, "Well we know they're soul mates because of these," He said gesturing to Keith's flowers.

       Keith was quiet for a moment as he looked at the flowers on his skin. He thought for several moments but before he said anything tears began to stream down his face.

       “Does that mean my Soul Mate is hurt? Does that mean she’s bleeding?” Keith couldn’t control his emotions very well and at the thought of someone being hurt, wished that no one would ever feel any pain.

       “Well yes, but it’s nothing serious. Since they are on your hands and knees I think they might have fallen and got a little scraped up,” Shiro explained. He took ahold of the scissor and motioned for Keith to give him his hand, He obliged without much thought.

       Each snip was like a stab to Keith’s heart. His Flowers were falling to the ground like hair. His hand was beginning to become lighter. Despite what it meant, Keith wished the flowers could stay for a bit longer. When the flowers and all of the green parts were piled on the flower, Keith decided he didn’t want the flower to die in vain. He crouched down next to the remains and clasped his hands together, giving s silent prayer to the gods to allow the flower to live in another world.

       When Keith was done praying he allowed Shiro to pick up the flowers and take them outside. He dropped them in the garden and covered them in dirt. They can grow into new flowers now.

 

* * *

 

       “Shiro? Shiro?” Keith was dashing around the room. He was feeling queasy. The flower that was blooming from his side wasn’t helping his situation. The Cabin was too small but the rooms were smaller. Keith was in a panic.

       “Shiro? Where are you?” Vines were starting to cover his arm fully and his side wouldn’t stop blooming. His head was spinning. Keith needed to sit down and try to figure out what happened to his soul mate. He obviously must have busted up their arm, probably broke it. His side may have been a stab wound. Keith wanted to pull the vines out of him but knew there was no possible way to get rid of them until his soul mate stopped bleeding. Keith’s eyes was welling up with tears. Was his soulmate okay? Where was Shiro? Why did this happen now?

       Keith felt smaller then he already was. He wished he knew where his soul mate was so that he could at least try to save him. He wished that he didn’t have flowers. He wished that he wouldn’t have had a soul mate so that it wouldn’t hurt so much.

       A door slammed shut distantly. Keith’s eyes were blurry and his body was shaking. A sob escaped him. It only took seconds for Shiro to hear him and dash towards him.

       “Keith? Are you okay? Oh my god,” When he saw Keith curled up onto himself and the vines surrounding him, he started to rush around. He grabbed the scissors, the book, the first aid kit, a glass of water.

       Keith wanted to know when he would know if his soulmate was okay. Keith needed to know that those vines had a logical explanation. He needed to know how big the wound actually was. Keith needed to know if his soul mate was going to wake up tomorrow or if that was impossible.

       Shiro was trying to get Keith to stand up but even with his bulging muscles, Keith was dead weight. He suddenly didn’t have any life in him. His soul-mate, Keith was sure, died. He looked up at Shiro, his tear stained face blank of any and all emotion.

       “Help me up,” He said, putting out his hand. Shiro grabbed it but he wasn’t sure what to do about Keith’s emotions. He pulled Keith up unto his feet and walked around him. Shiro’s eyes had welled up as well. He knew that with such a large flower and the continuing vine that his soul-mate must have died.

       “Come on, let’s get these vines off you before they cut off your circulation,” Shiro took the scissors in hand and crouched down to work on Keith’s side. One by one, flowers fell. The vines around him seemed to squeeze tighter, trying to make him join his soulmate in death.

       Neither one of them needed to look up the flowers in the books. It was the same flowers that were wrapped around their father the day he died, the same flowers that their mother adored until death.

       Purple and pink Anemone flowers. Purple signifying losing hope, pink meaning the death of a loved one. Keith’s soul mate was dead. Keith’s emotions were gone. Keith was no longer alive either.

 

* * *

 

       When Keith turned 18 he decided to join the Garrison University up in Arizona. Of course, Shiro applied there as a teacher. The two of them needed each other and even if Keith felt ready to be let go into the real world, Shiro knew better.

       That was when Keith started to get flowers again. He was confused when the first one came, a daffodil emerging from his cheek. He thought it was just something that landed on him but when he went to grab it and couldn’t pull it off, he went to the mirror in his restroom.

       When he saw it, his first instinct was to shout. Tears filled his eyes. He didn’t wait for whatever was going on to stop. He dug into his drawers trying to find something to cut it off.

       He didn’t own any scissors but his pocket knife might work. He flipped it open and when he looked into the mirror, he pulled at the daffodil. He held the knife to his face and sliced through it.

       A sliver of blood dripped down Keith’s face. He cursed and started to search for the first aid kit. He moved his hand through the cabinet and found it. He pulled it out and opened it. He looked through the kit and found a large square patch bandage.

       Keith got some peroxide and poured it over the wound. It bubbled up and dripped down his face and off his chin. He wiped it off with his arm and pulled the plastic off the bandage. He pulled it over the wound.

       He looked around the sink before finding the daffodil. He picked it up and tears began to fill him. Bile filled his throat and he rushed over to the toilet and let it escape him.

       In the back of Keith’s mind, he was relieved. His soulmate was alive. His soul-mate was breathing. His soulmate woke up. His hand was clenching the flower, His mind was swirling. He wasn’t only happy that his Soulmate was okay, he was also mad that he worried for so long. Mad that his soulmate hadn’t been able to tell him he was okay.

       Keith stormed out of the bathroom and into his dorm room. His room mate glanced at him in confusion. He sat up and looked over Keith’s posture, calculating something. Suddenly he smirked.

       “What? Did you have a quarrel with your lover?” Pidge said a little too smugly. Keith glared at him and moved towards the bedroom’s door. Before he shut the door, he looked at Pidge.

       “Just remember you’re not the only one with secrets. And also?” He began to close the door, “You can stop lying around me, I know who you really are. Katie,” He slammed the door shut, her face suddenly scrunched in amazement.

       Keith stormed out of the Dorm building and out into the dusty lands outside. He didn’t care who was around any more. He opened his mouth and screamed.

       “YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD DAMNIT! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?” Keith Lifted his hand to show the daffodil. He waved it at the sky, and even though he knew his soulmate couldn’t see him, he still yelled.

       “YOU WERE GONE FOR SIX YEARS!” Keith Screamed. Six years. It had been six years since Keith had received a flower in his skin.

       Suddenly a hand landed on Keith’s shoulder. The hand was strong, so Keith had expected Shiro to be standing behind him. Instead it was a dark skinned boy. He stood there with an identical bandage on the same side of Keith. He smiled at Keith fondly.

       “Are you okay?” His voice was soft but Keith could tell the boy liked talking already. Keith stared at the boy with a bored look.

       “Keith! What the hell are you doing?” Shiro yelled from across the courtyard. Keith whirled around away from the boy and sprinted over to Shiro.  His hand was clenching the flower too much and by the time he made it to Shiro it was just a clump of green and yellow. He shoved the plant into Shiro’s hands.

       “What is this? Hey- What happened to your face? Did you cut yourself again?” Shiro looked at his brother in concern, but Keith was too freaked out about the whole ordeal.

       “Never mind about me! What is that? Why did it appear? My soulmate is dead! Do you know what I’m saying Shiro? That day six years ago, they died. There was no way they lived. It’s not possible that- It’s not possible that they woke up the next day,” Keith was a mess. He couldn’t breath and he knew he was worrying Shiro but this was important. He had to know what was going on.

       “It looks like a crushed flower-” He stopped and looked at me in shock, “Wait… Did this bloom on your cheek?” Shiro moved his hand to touch Keith’s face. His eyes were wide. He looked as freaked out as Keith felt.

       In the distance, out of sight the dark skinned boy was looking over at them silently. He felt his heart clench but at the same time he realized that maybe that wasn’t him. It couldn’t be him. He had a soulmate.  


* * *

 

 

       Over the course of the next month, Keith had more and more flowers showing up. There was one that showed up on his hands, his elbows, his legs were especially covered.

        Pidge had especially been joking about how his Lover was mad a him and was getting hurt on purpose. Keith wasn’t so sure. He figured maybe they were a cop, maybe they were had a dangerous line of work. They could have been training to be a soldier. Keith wasn’t completely what his soulmate was doing or why he was constantly getting hurt. It made Keith worry.

       Shiro assured him that most of the wounds didn’t seem serious and none of them seemed to be near fresh wounds. Keith wasn’t used to having a soulmate to worry about anymore. He wasn’t even certain that his soulmate was his soulmate or not. He wasn’t sure of anything.

       “I don’t get it,” Keith whispered to Shiro as they sat in the study room, “How does a person not get hurt for six whole years? Is that even possible? And why are they suddenly getting hurt all the time?” Keith was a little more than frustrated. Even now he had a flower blooming from his knuckles.  Keith groaned. ‘Great,’ he thought, ‘they’re punching things now!’

       “I think you’re thinking into it too much,” Shiro muttered as he looked over the Criteria he had to teach the next day, “They got hurt a lot when you guys were kids, after the incident that lead us to thinking they were dead they probably took the safe route for a long time, or they were forced by their parents to stay safe all the time. They probably just moved out and they are back onto their clumsy ways or danger seeking heart,” Shiro smiled as he wrote something down, “My soul mate didn’t get hurt for three years until I started to get tiny ones on my hands and one on my arms. I can only imagine what my Soulmate thought when I lost my arm. The flowers must have been huge,” He closed the book and looked at Keith.

       “I’m just concerned that I’m gonna really lose them,” He muttered before placing his head on the table, “Shiro, I don’t think I could go through that again. I don’t want to lose my soul mate for real or think I lost them,” Keith picked his head up and could see someone staring at him. It was the boy who asked if he was okay…

       He had a couple bandages on his face, most likely from the training simulator. A lot of students were avoiding it but this kid looked like he went everyday. Keith had debated if he had wanted to do it but he wasn’t sure how crowded it would be. He didn’t want to be the only person there but he didn’t want to be around the whole school either.

       As Keith looked around he realized that Pidge had been sitting with them as well. She was joking around with the bigger fellow. She seemed to feel Keith’s eyes on her because she turned around to see him staring. She rolled her eyes and went back to her conversation.

       “I’m going to talk to Katie,” Keith said as he stood. Shiro gave me a confused look before he corrected himself, “Sorry, I meant Pidge.”

       “Pidge!” Keith said as he walked over to her. Her shoulders tensed when she heard his voice. Her pals glanced at him but the dark skinned kid was already looking his way.

       “What do you need? More help snipping your flowers?” She questioned with a raised eyebrow. Keith rolled his eyes and sat next to her.

       “No. I just figured you’re pretty smart. I was wondering if it was possible for your soul mate to die and then be replaced when your body recognises that the soulmate isn’t coming back?” The words keith was saying sounded like nonsense, but maybe it was possible. Katie stared at him in surprise.

       “I don’t think it’s possible. We’d have to actually find people who know for certain that their soulmate died and if they were later getting flowers on them. It’d be something to look into in future studies but as far as I’m aware, that shouldn’t be possible,” She opened her laptop and started to look up different things.

       “So you don’t think it’s possible but there is a tiny chance that it could actually happen?” Keith may not have lost his soulmate all those years ago, and if he did, why was he suddenly getting blooms of flowers again?

       “Like I said, it would take some research. Many people just claim that they were sure their soulmate died before they met them and then years later started to get flowers again,” She frowned as she went through the reviews and it only became deeper.

      “What’s wrong?” She glanced at Keith before she replied.

      “It appears that where the flowers that appear when they believe their soulmate dies, they’re big. They are large and don’t stop growing for hours. Some people claim that it wasn’t for another ten years that they got another flower to bloom on their skin,” She kept looking over each of the person’s stories and seemed to be upset, “Any of these people’s soulmates would be dead. Some have claimed to find a soulmate who had the same experience around the same time,” She looked at Keith, concern etched into her face.

       “Katie, do me a favour?” Keith wasn’t sure the others had heard him but Pidge didn’t seem to care.

       “Keith, are you telling me- Is this the reason you freaked out?” Pidge’s voice was nearly silent but she understood what he wanted, “Of course. No problem. I’ll see you back at the dorms,” She looked at the scream before watching Keith walk away.

       He didn’t realize that the cuban boy was listening in on it and had experienced that same thing six years ago and just started to get his flowers back.  


* * *

 

 

      Keith’s first time in the garrison’s training room wasn’t anything extravagant. In fact, it was quite boring. He lifted some weights and listened to the sound of continuous thumps from the only other person in the area.

       After his sixth set Keith decided to investigate the boxing area. It was large. It had a simple boxing ring and an even simpler place to practice alone. The boxing bags were lined up against the wall and the reflex bags were lined up on the other side. Only one reflex bag was being used. It was fast and as Keith watched he realized that the boy who was hitting and dodging it was the boy that he kept seeing. Pidge’s friend. He had broad shoulders and despite his shirtless back, Keith was staring at his legs. They weren’t a pretty sight. His skin was dark but the bruises on his legs were darker. Much darker. Keith glanced at his legs. There were tiny nicks from cutting off the many vines and flowers that had bloomed in the past month.

 

       Suddenly the boy’s face was beat in by the reflex bag. Keith hadn’t noticed at first but the guy’s nose began to bleed. A flower sprouted from Keith’s own nose, so he didn’t stay to see how the kid was, instead he walked away and into the Training area’s bathroom.

       As Keith looked into the mirror, he wondered about his soulmate. Was doing. Why were they hurt? How come he couldn’t help them? Without much thought, Keith pulled out his knife and flipped it open.

       Carefully, Keith put the knife near his nose. The flower was small, but it was still in deep. He pulled it sharply to make most of it out in the open. Keith pulled the knife down to cut through the stem. As soon as the flower and most of the stem was removed, someone came inside. Keith closed his knife and stuffed it in his pocket. He was lucky he didn’t cut himself this time.

       The boy from before walked around the corner. Keith threw away his flower, not bothering to see what kind it was. He washed his hands as the boy came over to the sinks, his head held back with a paper towel held over his nose.

       Keith glanced at him as he shook his hands out, the water spraying onto the ground. As the boy removed the paper towel, Keith wondered if he should do something. The kid did try to help him not that long ago.

       “Do you need any help?” Keith questioned as the boy rinsed some of the blood off. He glanced at Keith without much thought before responding.

       “That’d be great. Just grab a few more paper towels for me, then I should be fine,” He wiped the bloodied water off with the rest of his remaining paper towels as Keith grabbed him a few more.

       As he handed the paper towels to him, Keith began to wonder when the last time the kid had sleep. The bags under his eyes suggested that he hadn’t slept much at all and the way his eyes held a red glow from being held open seemed to indicate that assumption further.

       “So what brings you here so late at night? Usually it’s just me at this hour,” The boy said. Keith shrugged nonchalantly.

       “It’s been a while since I last lifted and I wasn’t sure how crowded the training area would be this late. I figured more people would be here but guess it’s just you,” Keith smiled at him while he leaned his head back again. The tissues surrounding his face were still bleeding as he began to walk out.

       “Could you help me get the blood off the floor? I have a pretty long trail from the boxing arena to here and I don’t think the janitor appreciates me leaving it there,” the boy grinned widely as Keith shook his head.

       “Yeah, I don’t mind helping you out. What’s your name by the way?” Keith asked. At this the boy turned to look at Keith like he was insane.

       “You don’t remember me? We went to high school together! Y’know, Lance and Keith, neck and neck?” Lance was now allowing the blood to drip down his face and over his lips as his hands were held up.

       “Uh, no? I can’t say I’ve ever seen you in my life,” Keith gave Lance a confused look as he walked over to him and covered his nose with a paper towel, “you’re getting blood everywhere,” He muttered.

       At this, Lance’s face darkened with a light pink. He moved away quickly, taking the towel with him. He tilted his head back once more with the intent to stop the bleeding.

       Keith gave him a weird look before walking away to get more paper towels. As he did so Lance removed the paper towels to see that the blood had stopped. With relief he sighed and began to toss them.

        As Keith continued to grab more paper towels he realized something. The flower in his nose was sprouting out again. With a sigh he walked over to the mirror and pulled at it. He pulled his knife back out and held it carefully, cutting the stem as close to him as he could. Keith knew that when he got home later he would have to have Shiro do it properly.

       Suddenly Lance walked in to grab more paper towels. Staring at Keith as he closed his knife, Lance wondered why he had it out. He slowly turned towards the dispenser and pulled at the papers as they came out. Keith tilted his head back to look inside his nose where the sprout seemed to stop growing.

       “You okay there, buddy?” Lance asks as he watches Keith. Slowly Keith stops messing with his newest flower and glances at Lance.

       “Yeah, I’m alright. Just a sprout,” Keith says as he walks back over to Lance and grabs a few paper towels.

       “Shall we?”

 

* * *

 

       For the next couple of days Keith’s flowers had stopped. Lance seemed to get more sleep and Shiro seemed calmer, less stressed. Keith’s roommate had done some research and it turned out that nearly 1 in every 100 people have gotten the sense that their soul mates died only for them to have it back years later.

       “I just don’t understand why or how that could happen. Keith, these people aren’t related or have any connections as to why this happens,” Pidge was up most of the last few nights trying to find something, anything, to make a connection.

       “Maybe I’m right,” Keith said as he stirred his coffee, “Maybe our soulmates did die and then, because we never formed a real bond with them, we were given a new one,” He brought the cup to his lips and took a log sip.

       Pidge stopped and turned to Keith. Her eyes were welled up and suddenly she was sobbing. Keith wasn’t good with emotion but he didn’t want her to suffer. He walked over to her and picked her up and walked over to the couch. He set her down before sitting on the ground next to the couch as he took hold of her hand. Her sobs were quite but enough to break your heart.

       “Why do you get to have a soul mate after the first one dies? Where’s my soul mate? Why don’t flowers grow from my skin?” She sobbed and wailed. No soul mate. The few people who are never given a soul mate, destined to be alone forever. He squeeze her hand tightly.

       “You’re wrong you know,” She shook her head, “You’ve got a soulmate! They may not be your lover but they are your best friend. And if I gotta be that soul mate you bet your ass I’m staying by your side,” Keith hugged her as she sat up.

       “You deserve the world Katie, don’t you ever forget that,” She sobbed harder as she held onto Keith tighter.

       “Thank you. Thank you so much!”

 

* * *

 

       “So you’re saying that you’re cooler than me?” Lance asked as he and Keith were talking i the training room.

 

       “No. I’m saying that you need to work more on your footing so you don’t easily fall,” Keith said as he stood behind Lance, his arms against Lance’s.

       “My footing is _fine_ ,” Lance snapped as he spread his feet a couple inches. Keith smirked and used his ankle to slide across Lance’s before pulling his leg back causing Lance to lose his balance and fall.

       “What the hell, man!” Lance shouted. Keith stared down at him with a raised eyebrow.

       “I take it back, I am cooler than you,” He grinned as he offered Lance a hand to help him up. Lance clasped Keith’s hand and pulled himself up.

       “You’re mistaken,” Lance grinned, “We’re both pretty lame!” He laughed loudly as Keith smiled softly.

       “Yeah,” Keith muttered as Lance’s face settled into a smile, “We really are, aren’t we,” He shook his head and pointed over his shoulder.

       “Come on, it’s almost time for us to go,” Keith said.

       Slowly the two made their way to the doors. As they walked out Lance hesitated to head back to his room. Keith noticed and turned to him.

       “Is something wrong?”  Keith asked. He gave him a concerned look waiting for a reply.

       “Don’t get me wrong, it’s a blessing to be roommates with Hunk, I just…” Lance looked over to the dorms.

       “I have a better idea, come with me,” Keith said as he took Lance’s hand and lead him to the opposite direction. Lance gripped his hand tightly, moving to walk next to him. Keith turned his head and smiled.

       Soon they were at the bottom of some stairs. Quickly Keith began to go up them, Lance being dragged behind him. Once they made it to the top, Lance realized they were on the roof. At first when they walked over to the edge he didn’t realize that Keith was staring up at the sky.

       Keith glanced over to the very confused boy next to him. He rolled his eyes and pulled Lance down to a sit before sitting down next to him and stretching to lay down.

       “Look up,” He muttered as he stared over at Lance. Lance slowly lifted his gaze away from Keith and looked up. Soon his face bloomed into a wide smile.

       “I’ve never seen such a clear view of the stars before,” He laid back and stared up, mesmerized.

       “It’s so rare for the stars to be clear like this in such a populated place, I always wondered why it was like that here but no matter how much I ask, Pidge refuses to look into it,” Keith grinned and face the large inky black, the light from the moon illuminating his face.

       “He must not want to make the magic disappear or something,” Lance smiled over at Keith.

       “I’m not so sure. They love solving things. It’s a wonder that they haven’t tried yet,” Keith said smiling.

 

* * *

 

         Keith was confused. After two week of having no flowers bloom, a very nice purple flower that Keith couldn’t recognize bloomed from the back of his neck while he was in class. At first a few people said there was a sprout at his neck and at first he thought that it was small, nothing to worry about. But then it wouldn’t stop growing.

         Normally flowers in the ground could take weeks to grow but if you leave a sprout to grow in your skin then it’ll take an hour or so to fully form a flower. Its a rarity to have branches to grow from your skin, but it is possible and many people keep the sticks or refuse to cut them down unless it was causing them problems. But when a flower grows to full size in a matter of seconds and it grew to a rather large flower, then that mean there's a lot of blood involved and that the wound is pretty bad.

         At first he wasn’t too worried. When he was younger his flowers would often be larger then average and the vines would just be apart of that specific flower. But by the time the day ended, he could feel the flowers large bloom rub against his skin. A vine, purple and bumpy, was beginning to wrap around his neck, squeezing and suffocating.

         Eventually, he couldn’t take it anymore. He left the university and went to the dorm rooms to remove the flower once and for all. Keith rushed into his room, empty and uncomforting. He went over to the bathroom, his breathing beginning to become ragged and short. He got in front of the mirror and grabbed the scissors, cutting the vine where his throat felt restricted the most.

         He took long hard gasp, his breathing starting to calm down and slowing to a steady pace. The vine was still growing. Anxiety was eating at him as he watched the vines fall loosely at his shoulders. His stomach clenched as he stared at the mirror.

         Keith’s dark circles looked more bruised then normal and even though he felt wide awake, his eyelids drooped. He stared at his slumped form as the vine began to grow longer and wilder. Large leaves began to tickle his side. He gripped the scissors tightly as he wondered why the vines wouldn’t stop.

         He squeezed his eyes shut tightly and imagined what could possibly be wrong with his soul mate. Who were they? Were they going to the hospital? Were they going to be okay?

          The longer he stood there thinking of it the dizzier he felt. At one point Keith couldn’t take it anymore, He opened his eyes just as he fell over.

         The lights were flashing brightly. Everything around him appeared to be blurry. He desperately tried to focus his gaze, but it took too much out of him. A moment later he was out like a light.

 

* * *

 

        When Keith woke up, he wished he hadn’t. He was surrounded by Pidge, Shiro, and their friends. As Keith glanced at each of them he wondered what happened and why the lights were so bright.

         He closed his eyes and grabbed at the thin blanket before pulling it over himself. He really didn’t want to deal with people. He had a headache from-

         Keith removed the cover abruptly and stared at them. Keith wasn’t sure what was going on but he was sure he shouldn’t be there in that moment.

         “What’s going on? Why are you guys staring at me?” Keith sat up and dangled his legs over the bed- the hospital bed. He stopped as he stared down at his lap.

         “Keith- When I got home, you were passed out on the floor. A large flower and thick vines were wrapped around you. That plant- Keith, that plant was poisonous!” Pidge had deep concern on her face as she looked at him. Keith felt a strain in his heart. They were worried-

         “I don’t know what happened. I went to the dorms and to the bathroom and when I went to cut the vines off I realized I looked tired, maybe a little sick. I just…” Keith muttered off as he stared down hard, not wanting them to see him weak.

         “She called me freaking out about how she thought you weren’t breathing. I thought I lost you, _we_ thought we lost you,” Shiro said as he gripped onto my shoulder. He squeezed it tightly before pulling me into a hug.

         “What about my soulmate? Do you think this one died too?” Keith whispered as he held on tightly.

         “No, they’re alive. You’ve been having flowers bloom all over your arms and legs since you passed out. I think they noticed you were distressed,” Shiro pulled away and smiled at Keith.

         Keith Placed his hand at his neck, pulling his hair away from where the plant must have been removed. It itched but Keith wasn’t going to complain.

         He looked up to see who all was there. Shiro, Pidge, Allura, and Hunk. For some reason it felt off. Like someone was missing. That’s when it hit him.

         “Where’s Lance?” Something in the back of his mind told him that Lance didn’t care or that he was probably goofing off with some of his other friends. Another part of him wishes he were worried and there too.

         “We had to kick him out. He hadn’t slept since you were admitted and he kept insisting that he stay just in case you woke up. Don’t worry though,” Hunk grinned, “he’s on his way,”

         A part of Keith felt happy that Lance had wanted to wait for him to wake up, but then he wondered why it was so important. It wasn’t as though he needed him for everything. They were sparing buddies.

          Sure they had bonding moments but it wasn’t as though they were all that close or really knew anything about one another.

         Keith couldn’t wait any longer. His mind was starting to make him see things that weren’t possible. He looked at the group around him and wondered when all of them entered his life and when he became someone they cared for.

         He then wondered when he started to care for them too. Shiro had always been the only one, but now… Keith shook his head. It was better to not think about it.

 

* * *

 

         The first thing Lance said when he arrived was “Sorry!” Of course Keith hadn’t expected that. He expected Lance to show up and be a total idiot and ask dumb questions like “How did you even manage that?” or “When didn’t you just cut it off when you first noticed it?”

         But no, Lance said he was sorry. Keith wasn’t sure what that meant. Why was Lance sorry? Because he got hurt? Because he wasn’t there when Keith had woken up? What could it be?

         Lance’s jacket was pulled on messily and his hood was up, hiding most of his facial features. Lance looked bigger in his jacket and although Keith had come accustomed to Lance’s gym wear, he seemed comfortable. Lance looked like he belonged there.

         When Keith was about to speak Lance began to rant, “I’m really sorry man, I didn’t think it was that serious, I thought that, you know, it was just a cut or whatever and then you ended up here and Oh my God, I can’t believe that I was right! No thats off track- Anyways, I’m really really sorry!”

         Keith stared at Lance in confusion. He hadn’t registered anything that Lance had said accept for sorry. Other then that it all sounded like blurbs of words that didn’t go together.

         “Could you- I don’t know, maybe say that a bit slower so that I can understand you?” Keith asked hesitantly. He didn’t want it to make it sound like he wasn’t listening, he just couldn’t understand it.

         “I- uh…” Lance stopped. He turned red in the face and began to wonder why he even said anything. Keith looked over at Lance in confusion.

         “Lance?” Keith took Lance’s wrist and pulled him in for a hug. The others were outside the room but the both of them wondered if anything made sense to them or to each other.

         “God Keith- I’m so sorry,” Lance started to cry as he held onto Keith tightly, his fists balling up into the paper nightgown that Keith was wearing. Keith stopped for a moment before patting his back a few times a bit unrhythmic and out of place, but neither of them seemed to mind it.

         “I don’t know why you’re apologizing, it wasn’t like it was your fault,” Keith murmured, but suddenly he noticed something. Under Lance’s hood where the back of his neck was, Keith could faintly see a bandage.

         Before Keith could rip the hood off Lance was already pulling it down to reveal his neck. He turned his back towards Keith, waiting for him to say something, anything.

         “You’re wrong! Keith it _is_ my fault. I got hurt and because of that, you ended up here!” Tears were dripping down Lance’s face and Keith stared at him.

         It still wasn’t regesturing in Keith’s mind.

         “Comon, man! Say something!” Lance whined as he turned to Keith. But as Lance stared down at Keith he realized that Keith was staring up at him already.

         “So, we’re soul mates? Like, how do you know for sure?” Keith looked at Lance with confusion.

         Lance sighed and pulled out a safety pin from his pocket. He carefully opened it before sticking the sharp tip into the skin of his thumb, eventually drawing blood. It wasn’t a moment later that a small honeysuckle bloomed from Keith’s thumb. He stared at it for several seconds before turning to Lance.

         “Don’t hurt yourself!” Keith shouted as he pulled the safety pin away from Lance.

         “Well how else was I going to prove it?”Lance bursted.

         “I don’t know, With like, a uh-” Keith stopped. There really wasn’t another way to prove it other than that. But still, “You shouldn’t hurt yourself!” Keith said as he pushed at Lance’s arm.

         “Yeah, Okay! Okay! I won’t do it again,” Lance turned to Keith with a wide grin on his face.

         “So what now?” Keith asked as they sat there, grins still plastered on their faces.

         “I guess this is the part where I get to kiss you,” Lance says as he turns to Keith, not hesitating to press their lips together.

 


End file.
